1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a magnetic sweeper, more particularly to a magnetic sweeper with a tool receiving space.
2. Description of the Related Art
In co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/703,757, filed by the applicant on Nov. 1, 2000, there is disclosed a magnetic sweeper that includes a mounting frame with two side walls, a rotating shaft, a cylindrical body having a plurality of sections mounted on the rotating shaft, a plurality of magnets disposed respectively in the sections, a guiding member, a collecting member integrally formed with and disposed behind the guiding member, a mounting axle, a wheel member having two wheel bodies that are respectively mounted on two ends of the axle, a coupling member disposed to transmit rolling movement of the wheel bodies to the rotating shaft, and a handle. The lateral sides of the guiding member and the collecting member are respectively connected to the side walls of the frame. The two ends of the rotating shaft and the axle extend outboard to the side walls of the frame, respectively. As such, when the magnetic sweeper is pushed along a surface, the cylindrical body and the rotating shaft are brought to rotate in opposite directions. Metal objects are drawn to the guiding member and fall over the collecting member.
The aforementioned magnetic sweeper, however, has the following shortcomings:
1. The collecting member is not configured for receiving tools, such as hammer and screwdriver.
2. The wheel member limits the turning direction of the magnetic sweeper, thereby rendering the latter inconvenient to use.
Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide a magnetic sweeper with a tool receiving space and a universal caster that can facilitate the sweeping operation.
According to the present invention, a magnetic sweeper is adapted to be rolled over a surface to pick up metal objects scattered thereon, and comprises an elongated mounting frame, a magnetically attracting wheel assembly, a pair of rotating wheels, and a universal caster. The elongated mounting frame includes front end, a rear end, a guide wall disposed at the front end, a barrier wall, and a bottom plate. The barrier wall extends from the guide wall, and is disposed behind the guide wall so as to define cooperatively an axial hole therebetween that extends along a transverse direction of the mounting frame. The bottom plate is attached to and extends rearward from a lower end portion of the barrier wall. The guide wall has an upper end wall portion, a lower end wall portion, and an outer guide face that is disposed between the upper and lower end wall portions and that extends along a circumferential direction of the axial hole. The magnetically attracting wheel assembly is disposed in the axial hole in the mounting frame, and includes a rotating shaft journal led in the axial hole, at least one magnetically attracting wheel sleeved fixedly on the rotating shaft, and a plurality of magnet units attached to the magnetically attracting wheel. The rotating wheels are mounted rotatably and respectively on two opposite sides of the mounting frame, and are rotatable relative to the mounting frame to rotate the magnetically attracting wheel within the axial hole so as to be adapted to magnetically attract the objects onto the guide face of the mounting frame, thereby moving the objects from the lower end wall portion to the upper end wall portion along the guide face, after which the objects drop from the upper end wall portion to the bottom plate of the mounting frame. The universal caster is mounted on the bottom plate of the mounting frame, and cooperates with the rotating wheels so as to be adapted to support the mounting frame on the surface.